


In Undead Hands

by AbsVoD7



Category: Underfell - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 08:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9538931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsVoD7/pseuds/AbsVoD7
Summary: The human and Flowey proceed to undergo the trials set by Papyrus but not without incident. Things get rather mysterious when the most recent rewind causes a drastic change. After enduring run ins with each of Snowdin's dog sentries the duo approaches the start of Snowdin Town where Papyrus finally decides to handle them personally.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This work continues after Fire, Snow, and a world beyond Death. Seeing how I'm writing in the past now I've decided to update as well as imply certain info in a way that each segment will keep unique content or retell it differently. This story is officially the third part.

     “Invisible Electricity Maze? You can’t do that. Can you?” The human asked nervously.

     “I assure you that the maze is as real and deadly as it sounds human,” Papyrus said while cackling very loudly. “Here’s how it’s going down. You’re going to attempt to traverse this maze which has a powerful electric current running through the walls. Running into the walls will mean excruciating pain if you’re lucky enough not to die, and your awareness will be the only tool you have to find the right way out. The amount of time it takes for you to escape will decide the overall rating I’ll give for this trial,” he said.

     “There’s no way I’m doing that,” the human said.

     “That’s actually pretty smart of you. Problem is you should’ve made that decision sooner. Now you don’t even have the option of going back anymore,” Sans responded. The human looked behind them and saw that the path behind them was now barricaded by a very tall wall of bones. Upon turning back around they gave the skeleton brothers a serious look.

     “What’d you expect? Thought I was just going to give you the option of running away? You’re not the first being to fail this trial, but since you’re the seventh human then you might just be the last,” Papyrus responded. Flowey and the human looked at each other for a moment hoping they could figure something out but it was to no avail.

     “From the looks of things we don’t have a choice in the matter. We should go along for now, we won’t be able to defy him so we have to wait until an opportunity presents itself,” Flowey said. The human nodded before turning back towards the nonchalant Sans and overexcited Papyrus.

     “I’m up to the challenge,” the human said.

     “Good, now come,” Papyrus said followed by a laugh. The human took a step forward but backed off upon sensing a powerful electromagnetic force straight ahead. “Oh yes, I almost forgot. Sans, make yourself useful and increase the effect of the excess voltage dampener. I wouldn’t want this trial to be too easy or else setting it up would be a waste of time,” Papyrus said.

     “This is a waste of time, what’s stopping you from killing them right now?” Sans asked.

     “For the last time Sans, there is an art to all of this so instead of throwing useless questions my way you could’ve already finished doing what I told you,” Papyrus said. Sans mumbled a few words behind his brother’s back before reluctantly walking over to a dial that was hiding behind a rock. As Sans turned the dial the human noticed that it was getting harder and harder to sense the same electric force from before. “There we go, if you had cut the slack earlier we could’ve watched the human fail and been on our way home by now,” Papyrus said.

     “Bite me,” Sans responded. The brothers started staring each other down once more until Papyrus gave Sans a finger wag before turning his sights back on the human.

     “You need to show some respect brother. Since it’s a big day for me I’ll let it slide so consider yourself lucky,” Papyrus said. Sans looked like he’d blow up any minute but instead he took a deep breath before refocusing the human as well.

     “Have it your way Paps. I’m definitely not one for the methodical approach, but I’ll admit that you have a good sense of entertainment,” Sans said.

     “Nyeh heh heh. Of course I do, and soon all will bear witness to my genius. In any case it’s still your move human,” Papyrus said. The human looked from one side to the other as they thought about their next move. _They’ve become harder to detect but I know for sure that it’s not safe to go straight ahead. Not completely sure but I’m hoping the way on the right might be a better choice,_  they thought to their self.

     The human stepped towards their right and paused for a moment. They then took a slow step forward onto the leveled snow. _Please don’t be wrong,_  they thought again. Upon planting both feet right next to each other the human was relieved in making the right choice. Still there was a bit of discomfort as they tried to figure out how to find the remaining walls on their own.

     “Good job, but you’ve only found the start,” Flowey said.

     “True, there has to be something that stands out when I’m approaching the walls but I’m not sure,” the human responded. After taking a few more steps they came to a halt and looked around. _I still haven’t figured it out. I guess this is pretty much going to be another gamble,_  the human thought. They then turned to their left and started to make a very slow step forward but stopped midway upon hearing Papyrus let out a chuckle.

      _What was the point of that? Does he know that I’m messing up? Or did he laugh to make me think that I’m in the wrong when in all actuality this is the right direction? He’s smiling, does that mean it’s a trick. Wait a minute. He’s a skeleton; they’re always smiling, aren’t they,_ the human wondered. They then pulled their foot back but stopped. _I can’t keep hesitating like this. There’s no way that I’ll be able to survive on my way to the King’s Castle when I can’t even be sure of my own moves._ The human then committed to taking the rest of the step and found themselves unharmed.

     “Yes,” the human said while moving forward. They were now in the middle of the area.

     “Neat, you’re halfway there,” Flowey responded.

     “Yeah, I can do it,” the human said. They felt more confident in their movements from that point on. From where they left off they turned left again and moved forward putting them on the opposite side of the wall they started in front of.

     “Alright, I came from the right side and there wasn’t a wall blocking this section so there should be a path to the right of me now,” the human told Flowey. They turned to the right and walked forward but came to regret it upon hearing a loud crackling noise.

     “I like your confidence human. However misguided bravery is fated to meet a dead end,” Papyrus said before laughing. At the same time a massive jolt ran through both Flowey and the human’s bodies. Both of them were paralyzed and burning at the same time. _Impossible,_  the human thought as their life rapidly faded.

     Within the void of Hollow World the human laid on invisible ground while clutching their self. While they knew they were fine there was no way they could simply toss aside the feeling of being electrocuted to death. _There’s no way that I could’ve solved that trial on the first go,_  the human thought while checking their body all over for burns. _That was a very painful way to die. I’d give anything not to be electrocuted again, yet there’s still a plethora of ways he can kill that’ll probably be just as bad._

     “What in the world?” The human said while looking around. Suddenly the area started to take on the appearance of Snowdin Forest. Even more interesting was that the human could see their self as Papyrus gleefully introduced his Invisible Electricity Maze.

     “Am I watching my own memory in third person?” The human asked randomly. A fire lit inside the human’s heart as they watched Papyrus laughing at the fearful expression of their past self. At the same time they activated the Hollow World’s function to continue. As they were getting pulled across space and time they closed their eyes calmed their mind. _He’s not going to shut me down that easily,_  they thought.

     “Here we go again,” Flowey said.

     “Yeah, but it’ll be different this time,” the human said. The two headed down the path where Doggo’s stand was but got surprised upon seeing him posted up on the side of it.

     “Just how different is it going to be this time?” Flowey whispered.

     “I don’t know anything about this, I just figured I was ready to handle the trial this time,” the human whispered back. They then walked over to Doggo who pulled out a dog biscuit and placed half of it in his mouth.

     “Uh hello. By any chance you wouldn’t mind if we went pass here right?” The human asked. Doggo didn’t seem to be paying them much attention. “I’d like for us to be able to settle things peacefully if… you don’t… umm.” The human couldn’t stay focused as Doggo pulled out a lighter and lit the end of the dog biscuit that was hanging outside of his mouth. A moment later he blew a cloud of smoke to his left.

      _He’s smoking dog treats? Why is that a thing? What does it even do for him? Is he still going to eat it anyway?_ The human threw out their confusion as their thoughts began running away and looked Doggo straight in the eyes. He didn’t respond whatsoever and Flowey was starting to get irritated as the three of them just waited there next to the station.

     “Are you going to at least try to look for us?” Flowey asked. Doggo gave a smirk before biting the treat in half and stomping out the burning half that fell to the ground.

     “So you do know about me,” Doggo responded.

     “Well, yes. My question is why do you ask?” Flowey responded.

     “I received an anonymous tip. The details were skimmed but the long and short of it was that there was no point in me trying to stop you two,” Doggo answered.

     “What? Who told you about us?” Flowey asked.

     “If I knew I wouldn’t of said anonymous,” Doggo answered.

     “Did you see what they looked like?” Flowey asked.

     “Nope, it actually seemed like there was a voice in my head,” Doggo responded.

     “You mean like telepathy? I don’t know anyone who’s capable of that,” Flowey said.

     “I’m done thinking about it so you two should get a move on,” Doggo said.

     “He’s got a point. Sorry for disturbing you,” the human said before proceeding down the path. Flowey was still lost in thought as the human continued walking.

     “Can you believe that. Telepathy, who or what for that matter can use telepathy?” Flowey pondered. Suddenly the walk came to a stop and Flowey looked up at the human in confusion. “What’s going on?” He asked. The human then broke into a sprint until they had reached the clearing where Papyrus had set up his maze.

     “Sans?” The human whispered while sliding to a stop.

     “Calm down, what made you take off like that all of a sudden?” Flowey asked. Papyrus held his hand out before talking.

     “That’s far enough-Where is Sans?” The human interrupted. Flowey gave the human a confused look before turning towards the other side of the puzzle. Strange enough Papyrus was on the other side of the maze by himself. _There’s no way we could’ve deviated enough from the previous time line for the events to change this much,_  Flowey thought.

     “Don’t ever cut me off while I’m talking! Besides, that useless pile of lazybones went home already. Why do you care about what he does anyway? Instead of thinking about him you should be worried about how you’re going to handle the Invisible Electricity Maze!” Papyrus shouted. _I don’t know why all this is happening but first things first, I will get past him this time,_  the human thought.

     The human proceeded through just like before. However they knew that the path ahead was a dead end. They also knew that the path following two lefts was also a dead end. _This is where I had messed up before. Instead of taking another left I’ll go forward from here,_  the human thought. While their decision led them in the right direction they couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. Like there was a change not as obvious as Sans leaving but just as important. They tossed the idea aside while getting back to the maze.

     The human made a left then a right and suddenly found themselves on a path disproportionately small compared to the rest of the maze. _That’s a pretty cheap trick, there’s no way anyone would of thought of that,_ the human thought. They then continued down the path with two walls very close on each side. Upon following it through they wound up next to Papyrus who wasn't even paying them any attention.

      _Why isn’t he looking at me? He does know that I made it through the maze right?_ The human thought. Suddenly all the pieces started to fit together within the human’s brain. _Wait a minute, that was way too easy, and Papyrus hasn’t noticed me because his mind has been elsewhere,_  the human thought. They then looked around saw the rock Sans had walked over to in the previous timeline. _Sans randomly leaving had to have bothered him, that’s why he’s not paying attention. Having been distracted, he forgot to dampen the excess voltage making the walls that much easier to detect. No wonder why it was so easy this time around,_  the human thought.

     “Oh, you’re here. How’d you sneak up on me like that? You’re either harmless or your ability to hide your blood-lust is unrivaled," Papyrus said while crossing his arms.

     “You’re becoming more intriguing by the moment human, nonetheless on to the next trial,” Papyrus said before speeding off.

     “All of this is pretty crazy,” the human said.

     “I know right. We didn’t do anything capable of making the timeline change so drastically,” Flowey responded.

     “True, but somehow we ended up with a complacent Doggo, a missing Sans, and an even easier trial,” the human said.

     “It’s definitely weird, but at least we were able to get through without dying again,” Flowey said.

     “You’re right, I’m kind of curious as to what was supposed to happen had we gotten through the first time. Anyway, let’s go after him,” the human said. The two continued on to the next area. There wasn’t anything around except for a large area of ice surrounded by snow.

     “I wonder what this was all about,” the human said.

     “I think this might be tied to a game that the dogs might’ve played. Lift me up higher please,” Flowey asked.

     “Ok, do you know what you’re looking for?” The human asked.

     “Found it. There’s a hole over there. I think the dogs used to take a ball of snow and knock it across the ice until it reached the hole without melting,” Flowey explained.

     “Wow, that’s sound pretty neat. Where’s their ball now?” The human asked. Flowey looked over to his left then turned back to the human.

     “I don’t think we should mess with this ball,” Flowey said.

     “What, why’s that?” The human asked.

     “I’m pretty sure that something about yellow snow is different,” Flowey answered. The human paused for a short moment then burst out into laughter.

     “Alright, let’s get out of here then,” the human said while moving forward.

     “You’re going too fast!” Flowey shouted. It was too late however, because the human was already sliding across the ice. As each foot would slip they focused the weight around the other to try to stop their self from falling. Somehow they got turned around mid-slide so as their feet finally collided with the snow they ended up falling on their back.

     “Are you all right?” The human said while clutching the boot as closely as possible.

     “Yeah, I’m fine,” Flowey answered. The human stood up again and brushed off a bit of dirt that had spilled out of the boot during the fall. They then walked into the next area where they saw Papyrus standing around.

     “Human, there you are. Your next trial is supposed to be a test of intelligence created by my brother Sans. However, even I’m at a lost when it comes to finding out where he put it. Nonetheless he made sure that only someone with a brain as refined as mine would be able to solve this test,” Papyrus said before looking around some more.

     The human looked around as well. They weren’t having any luck either until Flowey had pointed out the fact that something was sticking out of the ground. The human walked over to where Flowey was directing them and plucked the object out of the ground. Upon getting a look at the whole thing they realized that it was a pencil. _Why would this randomly be lying around in the snow? Shouldn’t it come with something to write on?_ The human thought. Upon looking around some more the human noticed that there was something taped to the back of Papyrus’s chest plate.

     “Wait a second,” the human said while moving over to Papyrus.

     “What is it?” Papyrus asked with his back still turned. The human pulled a sheet of paper off of Papyrus’s back but it was actually a word search. As the human started finding and crossing off words here and there Papyrus was getting angry.

     “Pestering little stump, he isn’t even trying,” Papyrus said while driving his left fist into his right palm. The human continued doing the word search while Flowey brought up a few questions.

     “You said that your brother is the one who made the trial right? Didn’t you say that he went home, because he hasn’t shown himself since we left his station,” Flowey asked.

     “He did, I told him that he hadn’t made a trial yet so he came back, did whatever you’d call this, and went home again,” Papyrus said while snatching the word search from the human and crumpling it up into a paper ball.

     “So close,” the human said with a snap of the fingers.

     “Is Sans really that fast?” Flowey asked.

     “Sans was never really a fan of moving anywhere, so unless he wanted to be mysterious he’d always just… get to places,” Papyrus said while shrugging and tossing the crumpled maze over his back.

     “What do you mean get to places?” Flowey asked.

     “He just does, now you see him, next thing you know he’s over there. Enough about him because I still have to set up a trial that’ll truly put your wits to the test,” Papyrus said before moving on once more.

     “Did you catch all that, apparently Sans has the power to teleport,” Flowey told the human.

     “Yeah, that explains how he was able to ditch us so easily before we got to the Invisible Electricity Maze,” the human responded.

     “The main question I’m still stumped on is what happened when we came back that made him start to teleport everywhere. All of our actions seemed small in comparison to the last timeline but getting him to teleport would be enough to explain why there are so many big differences now,” Flowey explained.

     “We might not find out anything because we didn’t know enough about him to begin with, and it won’t help to talk to him since he won’t be aware of the rewinds,” the human said while moving on to the next area. To their surprise they saw a table with a microwave sitting on top of it. What was strange was that there were no wires attached and a plate of spaghetti was inside of it.

     “Hey look, there’s a note,” Flowey said. The human walked over to the where the note was and picked it up. It read: Human, if you’re reading this then your agility has already been tested. For you see, this plate of spaghetti was placed in the microwave exactly four minutes after your departure from San’s station. It’s set to where another timer is activated when the first one is completed. You’re speed is good provided you’ve opened the microwave before it’s countdown is over, if two minutes have passed since the microwave has gone off then your speed is ok, but anything beyond that isn’t worthy of the Great Papyrus. -The Great Papyrus.

     “He’s very dedicated to this trial system, because this sounds like it was rather unnecessary,” the human said while opening the microwave and tapping their finger on the solid mound of spaghetti.

     “If we’re being honest then this whole thing is unnecessary, but since it’s kept us alive for this long then I have no complaints,” Flowey said as the human reheated the spaghetti in the microwave. The two then made their way under the table where their heads and the plate we’re shielded from the falling snow. The human used the fork Papyrus left behind to eat half of the plate of spaghetti. When they were finished they held the plate above Flowey who made his mouth expand really wide like when he ate the spider donut before. The human slid what was left into his gaping maw to be devoured in one fluid gulp.

     “That way pretty good,” Flowey said.

     “Absolutely, I wouldn’t mind getting some more of that,” the human responded. The human then got from under the table and took Flowey with them. As they got ready to move on they felt their soul expelling excess energy into another anchor point. As they got into the next area they noticed that the exit was barred and that there were no other paths in sight.

     “This doesn’t make any sense. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a blockade when I came through the first time,” Flowey said.

     “He must of did this. Let’s look around, there’s must be something that sticks out,” the human said. The two combed the area for a moment until they came across a sheet of snow that was somehow compiled into a perfect square. The human placed Flowey on the ground before brushing the snow aside. Underneath the sheet there was something etched into the base layer of snow. While the pictures were unclear they seemed to vaguely represent trees and walls. What stuck out the most was that there was a red X between two trees somewhere.

     “This looks familiar,” Flowey said. The human looked around and understood where Flowey was coming from. The blockade and walls ahead seemed to match up with an area on the drawing.

     “Of course, this is a map Flowey, which means that the key to the exit will be revealed once we get to that X,” the human explained. They then walked back towards the entrance and went left instead of right. After walking forward they were surprised as something had popped up out of the snow in front of them.

     “What’s that?” Flowey said. The human wiped the snow off of their face and placed Flowey on the ground before getting a clearer look.

     “It’s… another dog?” The human said with evident confusion. A dog erupting from the snow was just the start of the craziness. As the human’s vision fully cleared the human noticed the dog was wearing a set of armor. It was also wielding a great shield and longsword. Then again the dog was actually rather small so from the human’s point of view it was just a regular shield and dagger.

     “Don’t let your guard down,” Flowey warned the human.

     “I got it,” the human responded. The dog jumped at the human and swung the dagger. The human quickly side stepped his strike and turned around to ready for the next attack. The dog then turned back and did a rushing stab with the dagger. The human got ready to side step once more but the dagger began to glow with a light blue aura.

     “Look out!” Flowey shouted. However the human was already in the motion and the dagger tip rapidly extended as the human tried to evade the attack. Upon taking the cut the human placed their right palm on their left shoulder.

     “That ability, it’s similar to Doggo’s, at least he’s not as fast,” the human said. The dog leaped into the air and came down with a plunging attack. The human rolled backwards to escape while the dog followed up the plunge with another rushing stab.

     “That’s enough,” the human said while reaching out with their right hand. The dagger tip started extending again as the human took a small step back and to the left. However the human stopped suddenly and the dagger lost its bonus reach. The stab missed but the dog was still in the act of rushing, as it came to a stop the dog’s head stopped directly beneath the human’s outstretched palm.

     “No more fighting ok,” the human said while petting the dog. They then picked Flowey up again and started walking toward the trees. The dog had sheathed it’s dagger and placed it’s shield on its back before placing both paws on top of its head. Afterwards the dog looked at the human, let out an excited bark, then jumped over the entire blockade before racing off.

     “Well done, anyway, this is it,” Flowey said while directing the human toward the spot marked by the X. The human brushed aside some more snow to find both a large button as well as a note underneath. Human, if you’re reading this then… The human crumpled up the note and tossed it over their back causing Flowey to burst out laughing, after that they then stood on top of the button. A clicking sound was heard in the distance and the human returned to the exit to see that the blockade was no longer there.

     “Nice, we should be getting close,” Flowey said. The human stopped and placed Flowey on the ground when two cloaked figures had cut them off as they were about to leave.

     “Dogamy, do you smell that?” One cloaked figure asked another.

     “Yes Dogaressa, it smells rather weird,” the other cloaked figure responded.

     “True, we must eliminate it then,” Dogaressa said. At that point both of them had removed their hoods and revealed themselves to be heavy built, halberd wielding dogs. The human instinctively waved their hand from one side to the next rather slowly. _Their eyes aren’t responding, maybe that’s why smelling is so important to them?_ They wondered.

     “It’s time to die weird smell,” both dog sentries said before charging the human one after the other. The human sidestepped to the left before diving all the way to the right to get out of the way of both attacks. _Maybe I could use their bad senses to throw them off,_  the human thought. They then started running towards both sentries who responded by running back at them. The human then slid between the two causing them to clash halberds.

     “That should distract them for a bit,” the human said while slowly moving towards them.

     “You’ve always been a great actress,” Dogamy said while turning to the right and propping his right elbow in front of him.

     “It’s easy when I have a spectacular partner,” Dogaressa said while turning to the left and propping her left elbow in front of her.

     The human was caught off guard as the dogs flipped the script on them. The dogs then drove their elbows into the human’s chest before swinging out of the deadlock with each halberd. Both cuts marked the human’s chest with an X while knocking them down at the same time. As the human rolled over in pain Flowey had healed them before the wound became a serious problem.

     “That noise, I think this thing might be able to heal itself,” Dogaressa said.

     “Stay calm babe, it just means we need to hurt it in a way that it won’t come back from,” Dogamy responded. He then jumped over to the human and repeatedly tried to split their skull with downward stabs from his halberd. The human evaded the strikes by doing a partial roll to the right then two more times to the left.

     “Not one to go quietly huh, that’s good, I’ve always enjoyed a good sport,” Dogamy said. The human rapidly crawled back as far as possible as they saw him raise his halberd behind the back of his head. Upon getting out from underneath him Dogamy performed a hard horizontal swipe that got dangerously close to removing the human’s legs.

     “I got this honey, they won’t get away from us that easily,” Dogaressa said while quickly pursuing the human with her halberd raised. _Shoot, she’s moving too quick for me to crawl out of the way,_  the human thought. As Dogaressa struck down with her halberd the human pushed on the ground with their hands and feet so they’d roll backwards fast enough to evade the attack. The human then tried to get up and run but she quickly dragged her weapon through the snow and swiped very wide striking the human in the back as well as leaving a huge gash. The human fell over while groaning in pain. Flowey healed them once more but neither of the dogs paid it any attention. The human flailed around as Dogamy walked over and picked them up by their head.

     “Hey babe, I think I found its skull. Would you like to join me?” He asked. While carrying the human over to Dogaressa.

     “You’ve always been so considerate,” Dogaressa said while placing her hand around the other half of the human’s head. The two then slowly started to press against the human’s skull together. They were trying to force them off but the dogs easily outclassed them in power. Just as the human felt like their head was about to give way they felt the pressure ease up on Dogaressa's side.

     “Wait a minute!” She said while letting go of the human.

     “What’s going on?” Dogamy asked as he watched her start sniffing the human.

     “This is how we all smell after rolling around in the dirt. I think we almost killed a puppy,” she said.

     “A puppy? I’ve never smelt one like this before,” he responded.

     “Just put them down ok. Even though they’re different I don’t want to take a chance,” she told him.

     “Ok I understand, we wouldn’t want to lose anymore dogs,” he said while letting go of the human.

     “Sorry for the misunderstanding weird puppy, could you forgive us?” Dogaressa said while kneeling down. The human too strained to speak slowly raised their hand and pet her on the head.

     “What in the world? I never thought about dogs being able to pet each other,” she said while walking over to Dogamy.

     “What’s the deal babe?” He asked. She then petted his head catching him off guard.

     “What the, are you serious?” He said while petting her back. The two went back and forth for a moment until both stopped and burst out laughing.

     “To think that dogs can pet other dogs, it’s a whole different world,” she said while locking arms with him.

     “Definitely, good luck weird puppy,” he responded. The two then made their leave while the human still laid face up in the snow.

     “I don’t know where all this luck comes from but I hope it never runs out,” Flowey said.

     “Yeah, it’s not often that monsters decide they’re going to stop fighting me on their own,” the human responded while standing back up. After picking up Flowey the human proceeded along the path until they saw Papyrus waiting next to another blockade.

     “Human, you sure took your time getting here. What could’ve possibly been more important than rising to the death defying challenges I’ve lain before you?” Papyrus said.

     “Sorry, your spaghetti was very good. It’d be great to have some more of that,” the human said.

     “You enjoyed it? Well no surprise there, I am a master chef after all. Your days are numbered but I guess there’s no problem with offering one last meal,” Papyrus said before back leaping over the blockade.

     “You see that button and plates on the ground? They’re the key to solving a true test of intellect that I’ve concocted. However that’s just to get you used to the mechanic. Just turn each X into an O then press the button to proceed,” Papyrus said before walking off.

     “We haven’t really found an opening yet, and I fear that this ride is slowly coming to an end,” Flowey said.

     “I’m starting to think that escape isn’t an option. Papyrus is rather agile so I doubt we can simply ditch him, and Sans can teleport so we’ll never truly get away from them,” the human said while stepping on one of the plates. The sign had turned from an X to an O. Upon pressing the same plate again the O turned into a triangle, nothing happened upon pressing it after that. The human then pressed the button causing the plates to reset back to Xs. After doing the tutorial correctly this time the blockade disappeared as the button was pressed and the Os went from red to green.

     “Good, now for the real challenge,” Papyrus said while directing the human over to a more advanced field of plates. “Wait a minute, that’s not how I remember leaving it. This is rather unfortunate, if the landscape has interfered with the arrangement then it probably doesn’t have the same solution as before. There might even be a chance that it no longer has a solution at all. Human, I’ll try to fix this conundrum but in the meantime you’re free to try it as much as you like,” Papyrus said before entering a state of deep thought.

     “I’m not sure what it was supposed to be like, but I feel like that I can definitely find a new pattern among the plates. Maybe he’ll ease up a bit if we help him out with this,” the human said to Flowey.

     “Go for it but I doubt we’ll be that lucky,” Flowey said as the human continued to analyze the plates.

     “I got it,” the human said while mapping out their path as they walked. Without a doubt their plan had paid off and all the Xs in the area had turned to Os. Papyrus finally started paying attention to them again as he heard the clicking sound of the button being pushed.

     “What’s happening? Oh, you solved it? Good, I’d say that your intellect is average at best. Your final evaluation slowly approaches so don’t waver if you know what’s best for you,” Papyrus said before speeding off again.

     “I feel like he gipped me, I should’ve ranked higher than that,” the human said.

     “Let’s go, it’s obvious this has been a self-serving game from the beginning,” Flowey said. Papyrus was up ahead with a strange machine next to him as the human came up to a small bridge followed by a large area of tiles.

     “Human, this trial is meant to test both your memory as well as your reaction speed. I’m going to pull this lever and a puzzle will randomly be generated by making the tiles before you change colors. Each color has its own function but I’m not going to bother explaining until I’m sure the puzzle generated is solvable,” Papyrus said while pulling the lever. The human watched as the tiles changed from many different combinations of red, blue, yellow, purple, green, orange, and pink.

     “This looks like it’s going to be really annoying,” Flowey said as the tiles started changing faster and faster. Suddenly all the tiles stopped changing leaving a path of pink ones straight ahead and red ones filling out both sides. Flowey and the human gave each other confused looks while Papyrus looked like he was rather angry.

     “I don’t get it, can it be solved?” The human asked Papyrus. He didn’t say anything back, instead he walked up to the machine, placed his foot on it, and kicked it off the ledge. The human could barely hear him say the words piece of junk as Papyrus stormed off.

     “What just happened?” Flowey asked the human. The human stepped on the pink tile and nothing seemed to happen. They then tried stepping on a red tile but a barrier stopped them from crossing the line.

     “I think I just got extremely lucky again,” the human said while walking the path of pink tiles all the way to the other side. Advancing past the tile puzzle led them to an area where they saw a sentry station with a lot of snow around it. A little ways off from the station was the sword and shield wielding dog from before. It was sitting in front of a cylinder of snow but started barking excitedly upon seeing the human.

     “Is he trying to make snow figures? I kind of want to give it a try. Could you put me down please?” Flowey asked politely.

     “Sure thing,” the human said while placing him on the ground.

     “Let’s see, what to make. I got it,” Flowey said while making vines emerge from the ground. The human kneeled down in front of the dog as they noticed something on the chest plate that they missed during the fight. Upon rubbing their hand across the armor they realized that there were small letters engraved into it.

     “RGK9: Lesser Dog. Is that what they call you?” The human asked. The dog only responded with another enthusiastic bark.

     “There we go, all finished,” Flowey said. The human turned around and saw that Flowey had quickly erected an exact replica of Lesser Dog out of snow.

     “Wow, that’s amazing Flowey,” the human said. Lesser Dog barked before tackling his snow replica.

     “Just like that it’s gone,” Flowey said.

     “You still did pretty well. Quick question Flowey, do you know anything about RGK9?” The human asked.

     “The Royal Guard Canines, it’s a division of dog monsters made to fill in the ranks of the Royal Guard. After having our first talk with Doggo and witnessing the concerns of Dogamy and Dogaressa, I’m certain that dogs have constantly been taken and experimented on by whatever it was that I first saw at the King’s Castle. It wouldn’t be a big deal to them seeing how they all want to have increased combat potential but it seems like failed procedures result in blindness or maybe even devolution if this guy is anything to go off of,” Flowey said while watching Lesser Dog dig into the snow.

     “There’s nothing wrong with him. He acts just like a regular dog,” the human said.

     “You misunderstood me, it’s just a theory. The real question is has he always acted like a regular dog,” Flowey said.

     “Let’s drop it for now. I’m sure that we’ll figure out what they were trying to do with you on our way to the King’s Castle,” the human said.

     “You’re right,” Flowey said with a sigh. The two then continued along the trail where they found another set of plates separated by sheets of ice.

     “Another one? But he’s not even here,” Flowey said.

     “Let’s just get it over with because I want to get out the cold real soon,” the human said while mapping out a plan in their head. The human steadily slid across the ice as they navigated from one plate to the next. After reaching the button a bridge had extended connecting this area to a discrete trail amidst a thick area of trees. While moving through the trail a decent amount of snow fell on top of the human’s head. They shook their head rapidly upon getting on the other side of the trees to knock off the snow.

     “This place looks rather familiar. I’m positive that Snowdin Town isn’t too far away,” Flowey said. A tiny doghouse caught the human’s eye on the left. The distraction caused them to stumble on a thick pile of snow. Upon looking around they noticed that piles of snow were all over the place.

     “A lot of digging has been going on,” Flowey said.

     “Hopefully a dog as playful as this one isn’t a killer,” the human said while navigating around the piles of snow. They were almost at the exit until a small dog had poked its head out of one of the piles of snow. The human smiled as the dog greeted them with a tail wag and a couple of excited barks. Their smile instantly disappeared as the dog started to rise and the snow pile fell off revealing a giant suit of armor with a long spear in one hand.

     “I should’ve known,” the human said while diving out of the way of a spear thrust. Upon seeing another spear thrust coming their way the human ran in closer to the dog who switched up his grip to make easier close range stabs. The human bumped into the armor while evading a stab. They tried moving pass him but they were distracted upon seeing engravings on the armor. RGK9: Greater Dog.

     “Look out,” Flowey said but Greater Dog was already in the middle of seizing the human in his hand. He then threw the human back causing them to drop Flowey in the process. Flowey shriveled up as he spilled out from the boot and onto the snow. The human picked Flowey up and raised him up to their neck where Flowey wrapped himself around their shoulders. Greater Dog’s spear started to alternate between having a light blue aura and no aura at all as he stepped forward while winding up for a swing.

     “It doesn’t look like you can avoid it, but stay calm. The weapon will phase through if you don’t trigger the attack condition,” Flowey explained. The human readied themselves as Greater Dog did his sweeping approach. The human timed standing in front the alternating aura so that Greater Dog was running through them just as the weapon was utilizing the kinetic soul aura. Upon seeing the weapon phase through their body the human let out a sigh of relief.

     Greater Dog tapped the bottom end of his spear on the ground twice while panting. _This thing must see all of this as just playing around. Now that I think about it, that might be just what I need to get out of this,_ the human thought. Greater Dog charged the human with his spear leveled with their chest. The human ran at him and slid between his legs as he charged past. Greater Dog continued barking and panting as he turned around to face the human again. The human turned around and knelt down while beckoning Greater Dog over to them.

     “Come on doggie,” the human said while calmly clapping twice. Greater Dog bounded over to the human who then petted him on the head. The dog got really excited and started wagging his tail.

     “You want to play?” The human asked. Greater Dog responded by barking a few times. _There’s nothing around here to use for fetch or anything,_  the human thought. Instead they rolled up a snowball and tossed it. Upon seeing the snowball splat on the ground Greater Dog picked up a huge pile of snow and dropped it right in front of the human. The human climbed up the pile of snow and pet the dog on the head again.

     “Good dog,” the human said. At that point Greater Dog hopped out of the armor and licked the human’s face. Without the armor he actually seemed to be the same size as Lesser Dog. Once he was finished licking the human’s face he hopped back into the armor and walked off.

     “Neat, take a look over there,” Flowey said. The human listened to him and saw several houses in the distance.

     “That must be Snowdin Town!” The human said.

     “Exactly, once we cross that bridge a small walk through town will put us right on the edge of Waterfall,” Flowey said. The human looked at the empty boot and scattered dirt on the ground and sighed. As they left the boot behind Flowey slightly tightened his hold on the human.

     “It’s cool, I only have to stay up here for a bit longer. We can replace the boot once we get to Snowdin Town,” Flowey said as the two started crossing the bridge, but everything came to a stop as a bunch of mechanical noises started to grow louder and louder.

     “Human, this is your final trial. Your durability will be tested as you cross this bridge while under siege by pendulum blades, a spiked ball with chain, and even an automatic flamethrower,” Papyrus said from the other side of the bridge. At the same time a multitude of traps sat at the ready.

     “Whoa, what are we going to do Flowey?” The human asked while falling backwards.

     “There’s nothing we can do!” Flowey responded. The human tried crawling backwards but Papyrus wasn’t letting them get out of it that easily.

     “You won’t get anywhere if you continue to be so weak,” Papyrus said while turning on the devices. The human started crawling back even faster as the death machines slowly approached, but their escape was halted as they hit their head on something hard. Upon turning around they saw Papyrus behind them with one hand glowing with a red aura.

     “When did you get there?” Flowey asked in surprise. At the same time Papyrus sliced through the bridge with his hand. The human quickly caught on to the handrails as the bridge collided with the side of the cliff.

     “That probably wasn’t the best idea now that I think about it. Oh well, it’ll get rebuilt later,” Papyrus said. The human fought with all their might to climb up the broken bridge.

     “Keep it up, you’re about halfway there,” Flowey said. Both he and the human were quickly losing their cool as they heard the sound of the bridge slowly falling apart up above. The human went into overdrive and climbed up just in time to get up before that section of the bridge broke off. Upon finally getting to the top of the ledge the human pulled themselves up and rolled away from the edge while breathing heavily. As they calmed down from racing up the bridge the human gazed upon Snowdin Town in the distance and could feel another soul anchor being generated.

     “He’s gone,” Flowey said. The human looked across the chasm to see that Papyrus was no longer on the other side. They then sat up and looked in the direction of Snowdin Town and saw that he wasn’t over there either.

     “That’s pretty weird, but I guess now’s our chance if any,” the human said while getting back up. They then proceeded to race towards Snowdin Town as fast as they could.

     “Stop!” Flowey shouted. The human slid to a stop as suddenly an enormous bone had drove into the ground directly in front of them. Papyrus fell from the sky and landed on the bone with his feet.

     “Did you honestly think you’d get away that easily?” Papyrus rhetorically asked. “After finishing your evaluation I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re not worthy of doing battle with the great Papyrus.” He then turned around and looked at the town in the distance.

     “Snowdin Town is a rough place. To see a human walking around they’d converge on you in an instant. The residents tend to get rowdy pretty quick so royal guard members get crowd control orders all the time. They’d especially have fun with someone like you who isn’t even capable of putting up a good fight,” Papyrus said before turning back to the human.

     “Fortunately for you...” Papyrus said while jumping down from the bone and plucking it out of the ground. “...you won’t get the chance to see it,” he said while wielding the bone like a bo staff.

     “What? Why have us go through all that if the end result was the same?” An irritated Flowey asked.

     “It’s a shame that your abilities aren’t up to par, nonetheless I’ve taken it upon myself to enjoy killing you anyway. Besides, your last trial was botched but I’m not upset about it at all. In fact it’d be more enjoyable to test your durability myself,” Papyrus responded.

     “We don’t know what we’re up against so it’d probably be best to split up,” Flowey whispered. He then used his roots to pull the monster candy from before out of the human’s pocket.

     “You should eat this because you’re kind of running on empty,” he said before slowly slipping off the human’s back and digging into the ground while muttering some complaint about the cold. Upon downing the monster candy the human felt like they had a bit more energy to spare. Papyrus slowly walked toward the human twirling the bone staff in both hands, he then drove the bone into the ground and pointed at the human with one finger.

     “Your time is up human, prepared to be captured by a prodigal member of the royal guard,” he said. The human got ready to move as Papyrus slammed one end of the staff on the ground. Three small pillars of bone came out of the ground and advanced towards the human in a cone like pattern. The human dodged it by stepping between the middle and left bone pillars.

 _That was a bit too easy. I’m certain that he can do a lot more so why isn’t he? Is he just not taking me seriously enough?_ The human wondered. Papyrus then swept from the left to the right with the staff causing a trail of bones to curve towards the human. The trail grew wider as the bones got further away from Papyrus to the point that the human had to run forward and dive to get out of the way.

     “This wouldn’t be so daunting if you’d fight back,” Papyrus said.

     “I don’t want to fight you. If you’re not really going to try to kill me then couldn’t we just put this all behind us?” The human asked with a smile.

     “You think the parameters of my job stop me from finishing you off? Underestimating me is the last mistake you’ll ever make,” Papyrus said while holding the staff behind his back with one hand.

     “I’ve changed my mind; the King shall definitely have your soul, but I’ll be the one to take your life,” Papyrus said while hitting the ground hard with the staff. An enormous wall of bone pillars coated in a light blue aura had risen from the ground and pursued the human. The human recognized the aura and made themselves very still as the pillars started phasing through them one after another. As the attack faded the human suddenly felt like they were heavier for some weird reason.

     “I don’t think you truly understand the gravity of your situation,” Papyrus said. He then face palmed and muttered a complaint about Sans before rushing at the human. The human tried to move to the left but they definitely felt like they were moving a lot slower than usual. Papyrus caught up to them and whacked them hard in their right arm. The pain made the human back off while placing their left palm over the injury. Papyrus pressed the opening by jumping at them. They powered out of the way of his falling attack but still couldn’t move fast enough to avoid getting tripped up by his leg sweep.

      _How is he doing this? He’s fast but I should still be able to read him,_  the human thought. Papyrus walked over to them and raised the staff high above his head and swung down hard. The human fought hard to roll out of the way but felt their self slowing down as they got back up and tried to run. Papyrus tossed his staff at the human’s leg before rushing toward them. The human moved to the side but not fast enough for the staff managed to hit their foot and mess up their run.

     “What did you think was going to happen,” Papyrus said while grabbing the staff mid rush. He then swung very hard while speeding past the human. The attack collided with their arm while making a loud cracking sound. The human fell to their knees and screamed while Papyrus walked over to them once more with the staff now resting on his right shoulder.

     “You don’t have a clue how this works do you?” Papyrus said as the human confirmed that the arm was broken. He then lifted them off the ground by their neck but threw them down upon seeing Flowey’s healing pellets go into them.

     “Rats, I knew I was overextending,” he said while pinpointing Flowey’s location. Upon finding him he threw the staff at him very hard. Flowey evaded the staff by diving under causing it to fly off the edge. The human tried to push themselves off the ground but they felt immense pain even though they were sure Flowey had healed them. Papyrus decided to ignore Flowey and kicked the human over onto their back. He then pinned them under his foot and placed both of his hands together. Two magic circles appeared in each palm and upon slowly separating his hands a bone staff just like the one from before slowly reappeared in front of him.

     “You never stood a chance. Not knowing how to counter my gravity amplification field left you a sitting duck as they say,” Papyrus said. Flowey tried to pull his foot off of the human with a vine, but Papyrus made his staff glow with a red aura before slicing through the vine with a one handed swing.

     “While I could go about explaining why it is that you’re unable to fight against my power, I feel that it would be much easier to say that your soul just isn’t strong enough. It’s obvious that the only reason you were able to persist this long was because of him,” Papyrus said while pointing his staff at Flowey.

     “You don’t honestly think he can protect you do you? No one can protect you down here,” Papyrus said while stepping on the humans arm. He cackled some more as the human screamed in pain.

     “That arm hasn’t stopped hurting has it, do you know why? He has no issues restoring your flesh, but you’re out of luck the moment you get missing limbs or broken bones,” Papyrus said. He then lifted the staff above his head with both hands. The human looked on in horror as the staff came down and flinched as it suddenly stopped right in front of their face.

     “What?” Papyrus said while looking over his back. Flowey was back there with a few vines tied to the staff to hold off Papyrus’s swing.

     “I’m not just going to sit here and let you hurt them,” Flowey said.

     “How valiant of you, and here I was thinking you were smart enough to know when you’ve lost,” he said while taking his foot off the human’s chest. He then threw his staff into the air and balled his hand into a fist causing the staff to explode into a shower of spiked bones. Flowey dived under and dug every which way to evade the bones as they rained into the earth. The moment Flowey resurfaced Papyrus had swiped him up in his left hand.

     “Cutting you off with the rain of spikes made it that easy to lead you right to me. Just another reason as to why your struggle against the royal guard is futile,” Papyrus said while shoving Flowey inside his right eye socket. The human watched in surprise as Flowey seemed to shrink into Papyrus’s face. Afterwards a magic seal appeared then vanished in front of his right eye as he started walking towards the human who was trying their hardest to keep away. Flowey tried to escape but he was trapped inside of an invisible force bubble.

     “You don’t have to do this!” The human said as Papyrus approached while generating another bone staff.

     “You’re right, I don’t have to, however I have to admit that I’ve been looking forward to it,” he said while getting even closer.  
“Take a look; after all you’ve done to help them it meant nothing because they’re just too fragile,” he told Flowey who kept trying to break out of the eye to no avail.

     “You were doomed the moment you thought you could fight me while protecting them. You’ve no choice but to watch me kill them now, maybe then you’ll learn to focus only on yourself like a real monster,” Papyrus said while raising his staff overhead once more.

     Flowey could do nothing but watch helplessly as Papyrus swung down very hard causing a few of the human’s ribs to break. He then knocked out some of their teeth with another swing before pinning them under his foot again and bashing their skull once. The human raised one hand pleading for him to stop, but he laid into their skull a second time. Their body slowly fell limp but that didn’t stop him from bashing their head in a third time. As Papyrus dealt the fourth and final blow the human’s eyes had closed for good while Flowey turned his head away and sulked.

     “Nyeh heh heh heh,” Papyrus laughed while dropping the bloodied bone staff. Everything had suddenly stopped for him and Flowey could once again see the entire world melt and converge on the human’s lifeless body. Knowing that he used to deal with the same challenges that the human was now facing made him enter a state of deep thought.

      _The pain isn’t something that you simply forget. Every last second of anguish is felt up to the point that you’ve lost completely. The suffering is real and the memories are harshly vivid. I’ve thought about embracing the misery they’ve forced upon me before. I’ve even thought about going back just to gain the power to get revenge on the king himself. I couldn’t however, no matter how much I despised the king and his way of doing things I had no contempt for the monsters that have chosen to accept his way to survive. This is the third time you’ve died, and each time you’ll remember all the previous deaths as if they just happened. It’s not easy bouncing back from a death as mentally scarring as this one. Moments like these will truly test if you can stick with the idea of finding the good in everyone._

     The human was laid out across the invisible ground of Hollow World with tears streaming down the side of their face. They grabbed their chest with one hand while shaking their other arm around. The human’s mind and body were practically reliving the brutal murder even though their bones worked as if nothing had ever happened. Upon calming down a bit they slammed their fist on the ground as they thought about how weak they’ve felt up to this point. It didn’t help that the scene was being replayed across the void space and the words 'doubt' and 'weakness' orbited their head constantly.

      _I want to be able to help Flowey. I want to be able to reason with Papyrus. Even with knowledge from the last reset I don’t know if I can do anything to make a difference in the fight. Is there even a chance that Papyrus will listen to me anyway?_ The human thought. At the same time the thought occurred the continue and reset options made themselves visible.

     The human thought for a moment on whether or not leaving Hollow World will do them any good. They still didn’t have an answer to dealing with Papyrus’s ability, but they couldn’t accept the thought of staying still anymore as they watched Flowey watch them get murdered from behind Papyrus’s face in the flashback. _I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but I at least have to make it clear that I’m not giving up,_  the human thought while accessing their way back to the real world.

     “You’re back, did you figure something out?” Flowey asked.

     “No, if the strength of my soul is the issue then the only thing I can think of is trying to strengthen my projection so that my movements aren’t slowed. You think I can do it?” The human asked.

     “Well, the chances of any soul at base strength… I highly doubt it. There’ll be a higher-” Flowey was interrupted as Papyrus’s bone staff fell from the sky. He then let out a groan of annoyance as Papyrus landed on the bone with his feet.

     “This was not the best place for you to put this thing. There’s not going to be a lot of time for us to plan,” Flowey whispered while getting on the ground. “There’s no way that you can compete with his strength and you already know that my healing abilities have their limits. It’s pointless to move on if you can’t get out of this battle in one piece,” he said as Papyrus slowly approached.

     The human didn’t pay much attention to Papyrus’s monologue, instead they devoted their thoughts mainly on the influence of their soul. They snapped out of it upon seeing Papyrus point his finger at the human suggesting their time was now up. The human signaled for Papyrus to stop as they saw him preparing the first attack.

     “Just calm down for a moment, we haven’t really tried to understand each other at all. I think if we just slowed everything down and got to know each other a little better than maybe we might actually get along rather well,” the human said. Papyrus only looked at the human with one hand under his chin.

     “Are you coming on to me?” Papyrus said while scratching his skull with one finger.

     “What? No I was just- Of all the imprudent things I’ve ever heard,” Papyrus interrupted.

     “I wasn’t trying to- Did you think the great Papyrus would be so easily disgruntled by mere flirtation?” Papyrus rhetorically interrupted.

     “You’re not listen- A being as weak as you could never coexist with a warrior as renowned as I am,” Papyrus interrupted again. The human, much fed up with the interruptions, waited quietly with an irritated look on their face.

     “It takes a creature so desperate and pitiful to even consider such foolishness. Accept the end now, with luck you’d be able to avoid embarrassing yourself any further,” Papyrus said.

     “Can’t we just toss all of this, I don’t want to fight you,” the human responded.

     “You could at least try to make it a little harder to kill you,” Papyrus said while charging his staff with a blue aura. He then slammed one end of his staff on the ground projecting pillars of cyan coated bones just like last time. The human waited patiently as the bones phased through them, but they felt their soul piling on weight with each passing attack.

     Papyrus ran forward and immediately targeted the human’s head with his first swing. The human ran forward and slid under the swing with impressive speed thanks to the enhanced gravity they were feeling. He then quickly turned around and punched downward with his right hand but only hit snow as the human barely rolled out of the way while negating the gravity effect with a soul pulse. Afterwards he charged his staff with a red aura before slicing through the snow with his left. The human got up from the ground by unleashing another pulse to fight against his soul effect while getting out of range just in time to avoid getting sliced in half.

     Papyrus wasn’t done yet because the human hadn’t even fully turned around yet before he threw the staff at them. Upon realizing what was going on, they fell over halfway using the extra gravity to help them evade again. Papyrus followed up by conjuring a bone out of thin air and launching it at the human before jumping into the air. The human completely leaned all the way back to avoid the bone that made a small explosion in the snow behind them.

     They then tried to take a quick breath but Papyrus was falling from the sky while re-summoning his bone staff. The human responded to the plunging staff attack by rolling backwards, but as the human stood up Papyrus used his hold on the staff as well as the inertia from the fall to chain an arcing kick to his descent. The human now caught off guard blocked with their right arm but got knocked off their feet in the process. They then rubbed their arm which was in pain from the kick but remained grateful that the attack didn’t break their arm. The human tried to keep their head about them, but dodging and manipulating their soul output made their stamina drain extremely fast.

     “You stubborn little weakling, I’ve had enough of you running away,” Papyrus said while throwing his staff up into the sky. The staff exploded causing spiked bones to hail down on the human. Flowey successfully blocked the falling bones by containing the human in a dome of vines.

     “Clever, but even in numbers you haven’t changed the fact that you’re still weaklings,” Papyrus said.

     “I’m done putting up with your pretentious attitude. You’ve done nothing but trash us and assume you’ve got us all figured out,” Flowey said before diving and resurfacing in front of Papyrus. _I’m sure working myself like this will definitely be a bad idea, but if we’re going to get anywhere with this guy then it’ll only happen if I start by proving him wrong,_  Flowey thought to himself.

     “I’m not the biggest fan of being violent. I’ve done more than my fair share of running. You can call me a lot of things, but if there’s one thing you’re wrong about, it’s the fact that I’m not weak,” Flowey said with a serious look on his face.

     “Nyah ha ha ha,” Papyrus mockingly laughed. “I’ll believe that when I see it,” he continued.

     “I figured as much,” Flowey responded. Papyrus was about to slam one end of the staff on the ground, but it was interrupted when Flowey caught his arm mid swing with a vine. Papyrus made his hand glow with a red aura and cut through the vine while Flowey was propelling dense magical shells at him. He quickly deflected the shells away even knocking one at the human who was surprised to see that it healed them.

     Papyrus threw his staff at Flowey who evaded it with another dive. He then placed his hands together in an attempt to summon his staff but didn’t upon noticing a bunch of vines attempting to enclose him. Instead he placed his palm on the ground, generating a large group of spiked bones around him in a circle to shred the oncoming prison. Another volley of Flowey’s bullets flew at Papyrus just as he broke out, forcing him to block them with his arm which still took some damage.

     The human watched as Flowey’s tactical use of vine and bullet combos kept Papyrus on the defensive. _He’s doing amazing, I can’t have him deal with all this on his own. If he can prove to Papyrus that he’s not weak then so can I,_  the human thought while popping the piece of monster candy in their mouth. Papyrus threw his staff up into the air with his left hand while casting four of his explosive bone darts with his right. The staff burst into a rain of sharp bones while the exploding darts went off leaving Flowey with little to no safe zones to escape to. Flowey found a safe area but it was a bait by Papyrus who swiped him up in his hand the moment he emerged from the ground.

     “Nyeh heh heh heh. Your survival instincts are well honed, but in the end your combat skills are still inferior. Nonetheless you’re deserving of a death at my hand and rest assured that your weak little human friend is-“ Papyrus was interrupted as the human suddenly tackled him causing him to drop Flowey at the same time. Papyrus was clearly confused as the human brought him to the ground and looked down on him with the most serious look they’ve mustered so far.

     “I’m not going to sit here while you try to kill my friend. You can call us weak as much as you want, but to me he’s not and even if he was it doesn’t matter because he’s not alone,” the human said. In a flash of anger, Papyrus grabbed the human and threw them off of him.

     “You should save the baseless faith for a battle you can actually win!” Papyrus said while sending a trail of bones pillars at the human. The human rolled out of the way, but was moving too slow to escape the dash strike Papyrus had following up with. Flowey had saved them from taking the hit by tying Papyrus’s arms together, but he quickly broke out and attempted to swing his staff across the ground in Flowey’s direction. The human stopped him by catching the end of his staff in both hands, but they instantly let go of it the moment they saw it channeling the red colored aura.

     Papyrus then sliced from the ground up with his charged staff in his left hand which the human evaded by sidestepping to their left. He then came back across the other side with his left elbow which the human escaped by falling backwards with the extra gravity getting them out of danger even faster. The human gasped in terror as Papyrus drove downward ready to pierce the human’s face with the glowing staff, but Flowey saved their life again by using another vine to pull Papyrus off of them in the nick of time.

     Meanwhile the human fought off the chills they were feeling and stood back up. _I can’t let him win. He has to learn that we can be strong. I have to make sure he knows that there’s more than one way to be strong and having strength doesn’t mean he has to act a certain way._ Flowey shot more bullets at Papyrus who was ready to knock them away, but the human threw off his focus by shoulder charging him in the back. The bullets hit all around the chest piece and left shoulder dealing damage but nowhere close to being lethal.

     Papyrus then channeled energy into his staff before swinging it at Flowey causing a sharp aura blade to cut through the air. Flowey partially dug under the snow then launched himself over the attack like a dolphin before landing in the snow once again. Papyrus turned around and grabbed the human who tried approaching him from behind, but Flowey went for his arms again as he recharged his staff with the red aura. He then dropped the human while performing and spin kick and throwing the staff at the same time. His staff cut through Flowey’s attack while the kick knocked the human away.

     As Papyrus attempted to summon the staff again, he was stopped by the human who managed to rebound quick enough to jump onto his back while Flowey caught each hand with a vine. Papyrus was forcing his hands together but Flowey was fighting just as hard to keep the magic seals from connecting. Papyrus then tried to place both hands on the ground but the human stopped him by seizing his arms from underneath and pulling upward. To break the lock, Papyrus took one step forward and twisted his upper torso very quickly throwing the human off his back with no hands, afterwards he placed both palms on the ground making bones sprout up around him to break the vines.

     “It doesn’t matter how hard you try or how persistent you think you can be,” Papyrus said while getting his staff back.  
“You will always be weak as long as you’re too afraid to accept the rule of kill or be killed. How can you hope to be taken seriously when neither of you have come at me with the intent to kill,” Papyrus said.

     “It’s not right that the only thing everyone knows about each other is how good they are at killing things. There wouldn’t be so much tension around here if people would just accept each other and maybe try to be friends,” the human said.

     “Making friends won’t do you any good because they’ll either die or make you weak,” Papyrus responded.

     “How would you know? The way you act I don’t even think you’ve tried to make friends with anyone,” the human inquired.

     “You’re an insolent little bug that thinks everyone is easily understood, how would you know whether or not I’ve tried to make friends?” Papyrus responded.

     “Wait a minute, so are you implying that you have been trying to make friends? Man, if this is how you break the ice than your social skills need to be completely reworked,” Flowey responded.

     "No one asked you!" Papyrus shouted.

     “Have you ever figured just once that you could talk with someone without having to judge each other for their strength our suspect each other of betrayal? Wouldn’t it be alright to actually be able to learn something about someone that’s not limited to how they act in a fight?” The human said while taking a few steps towards Papyrus.

     “I don’t know why you tend to persist when I’ve told you time and time again that your inquiries are wasted on me,” Papyrus responded.

     “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to reason with each other,” the human said.

     “Of course there are, friends aren’t necessary. The only thing that matters is obtaining the respect that I rightfully deserve,” Papyrus said while making his staff glow red again.

     “Is it honestly so important to you that you couldn’t even give us the chance to talk this out?” The human asked.

     “I already told you how it was, until I achieve that goal nothing else matters. I won’t have to ponder things like friends anyway because once I become the most feared royal guardsman no one would dare try to make me their enemy,” Papyrus said followed by more maniacal laughter. He then walked towards the human but stopped as Flowey shot more bullets at him.

     “No one’s going to get in my way, especially not a pair of insects like you two,” Papyrus said while knocking the bullets aside and sprinting at the human.

     “Undyne will learn how to show some respect,” Papyrus said while Flowey swung high then low with two vines. Papyrus crouched into a slide while turning around to get under the first vine, he then did a backflip jump to get out of the way of the second vine and directly above the human. They tried to dive forward as they saw Papyrus ready a falling strike from above. However, due to the enhanced gravity the human wasn’t able to get much distance before hitting the ground.

     “The King will praise me as the envoy to humanity’s downfall,” Papyrus said while hitting the ground hard with the staff. The human was relieved to see that the attack had fallen short and landed between their legs but Papyrus wasn’t finished.

     “Sans will, on second thought, there’s no point in talking about him,” Papyrus said while closing in on the human once more. The human tried to crawl away as fast as they could as the fear of having their head smashed open resurfaced. Papyrus on the other hand was too annoyed to give out a slow death so he made his staff glow red with power implying that he was going to slice them in two. Papyrus raised his arm but was distracted as Flowey had propelled himself out of the snow and flew right by his face. He tried to trap Flowey inside of his eye socket but he didn’t react fast enough. Upon looking down he noticed that the human had used the distraction to get some space.

     “That was very clever. Nonetheless I still have you two outclassed by far. I appreciate a good tactic as much as the next warrior but there’s not a single trick you can pull that’ll turn the tables on me,” Papyrus said while launching an explosive bone dart to his right. Flowey was caught off guard as the bone pierced the ground and triggered an explosion right in front of him as he tunneled through the snow.

     Flowey changed direction very fast but the explosion still forced him out of the ground while dealing a small bit of damage. _Impossible, he’s never gotten that close to landing a direct hit before. Was he pretending to have trouble tracking me the whole time?_ Flowey thought. Papyrus then swung the bone staff at the human from the ground up creating a wave of spiked bones in their direction. The human noticed that the attack was getting extremely wide as it went on but advanced much slower than usual so the best option they could think of was backing off.

      _That was a very simple tactic and one of the many reasons why they’ll never be in the same league as me,_  Papyrus thought while rushing towards Flowey. He reached out as far as he could with his left hand eager to crush him, but Flowey quickly recovered and dug under to avoid getting caught. Papyrus then placed one hand on the ground and made a wall of light blue bone pillars appear in front of Flowey. _That aura, no matter, if I can’t go through them, then I’ll get over them,_  Flowey thought as he prepared to launch himself out of the snow.

     “Flowey!” The human called out as they watched his jump slowly take him higher. _Oh good, they’re back, the earlier attack must’ve been to stop them from interfering,_  Flowey thought. As he was scaling over the wall he noticed the human had a troubled look on their face. He started to feel uneasy as he watched them try to reach out to him from afar. _What’s going on?_ Flowey thought. He then turned around in midair and let out a short scream as he saw Papyrus also airborne following right behind him.

     “Nyeh! Papyrus shouted while closing in on Flowey. Flowey quickly powered through the fear and generated three magic soul bullets as Papyrus reached out with his left to try and grab him. The first bullet had hit Papyrus’s hand causing it to get knocked off course. Papyrus then reached for him with his right which Flowey had countered using the second bullet. The right hand still collided with his stem causing him to get spun even though it was no longer in position to grab him. Flowey focused as hard as he could and fired the last bullet as he was sure Papyrus’s face was getting closer. A moment later everything was silent as Papyrus had hit the ground and stopped moving.

     “Did he get away?” The human said while looking around for Flowey. _Papyrus isn’t responding at all, Flowey didn’t actually end up killing him during all that, did he?_ The human thought. Right on cue Papyrus shuffled within the snow causing the human to gasp. However, upon seeing Papyrus’s face their jaw dropped completely. Flowey was trapped behind Papyrus’s eye socket again and apparently Papyrus had caught the third bullet between his teeth.

     “A brilliant struggle but like I said it’s over. If he couldn’t stop me what makes you think you can? Your range, speed, and ability are all abysmal by comparison,” Papyrus mocked.

     “Since you did go through so much trouble to suffer a miserable defeat I’ll give you a death worth remembering,” Papyrus said while conjuring his staff back. He then held the staff out horizontally with his left and placed his palm closer to the other end with his right. Flowey grew highly worried as red energy started spiraling into the staff like a whirlpool. “Nyah ha ha ha ha,” Papyrus laughed as all the energy finally stabilized around the staff.

     “You have to get out here now,” Flowey shouted.

     “There’s nowhere for them to run,” Papyrus said while looking behind the human. “Come to think of it, from that angle I might do some major damage to Snowdin, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to handle it. Nonetheless, it’s time for you to part with your soul,” Papyrus said.

     Tears started to from within the human’s eyes as they thought about how much their encounters have been a burden on Flowey and that most of their battles would’ve been flat out impossible to survive without his help. They couldn't help but slam their fist on the ground as they thought about how useless they felt in the face of real danger.

     “Are you going to accept the end? How unfortunate, I was really hoping you’d meet your end with a death defying stare of vengeance in your eyes,” Papyrus said.

     “What are you doing?” Flowey shouted angrily. The human looked at him confused while Papyrus patiently awaited the last words.

     “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t listen to this jerk. I’ve told you before that I’ve been in the same boat plenty of times. I’m certain that there’s been a point in time to where every being in the underground has felt inadequate. You should never doubt your self-worth because we said we’d tackle this journey together. Haven’t you realized by now that I need you just as much as you need me?” Flowey said.

     There was truth to Flowey’s words now that the human thought about it. They doubted their usefulness seeing how Flowey bailed them out when they met Napstablook and a stroke of luck saved them from Dogamy and Dogaressa. With the number of times their life depended on Flowey they felt incompetent next to him. _He’s right, I shouldn’t be thinking this way. He trusted me with Toriel because he knew that there was no way he’d make it by himself. If he believes that I’m capable of finding a way then I have to give it my all so that he’s not wrong,_  the human thought while looking back up at Papyrus.

     “Now that’s a spirit I can’t wait to destroy. Your friend gave a nice speech, you won’t have to part with him for long. I’ll be sure to end him quickly as soon as I’m done with you. I can’t imagine the King’s surprise when he finds out I delivered the last soul and killed the abomination,” Papyrus said while getting ready to throw his staff at the human.

     Flowey knew that with both him and the human practically out of stamina this fight was pretty much over. Still he felt he had to let them know what was on his mind, because for them pain and death were only temporary setbacks, only when they’ve accepted that it’s impossible for them to win will it truly be over.

     Flowey looked at the human as they prepared to receive Papyrus’s attack. The human was still mildly upset but they continued to face forward with their expression showing Flowey that even though they’re not sure when, they’ll definitely stop Papyrus. The bone staff grew brighter in Papyrus’s hand as he reared back his arm. Everyone was silent and Papyrus was in full focus; however that came to a swift stop as the three of them suddenly heard a barking noise.

     “What?” Papyrus said while turning around. At the same time a dog jumped up and snatched the staff out of his hand before taking off. “Get back here you stupid dog!” Papyrus shouted while chasing after the dog, he even sped past the human who was just as awestruck as he was.

     “How was that even possible?” Papyrus shouted as the dog made its escape. “We’re on the edge of a cliff beyond a destroyed bridge so where did it even come from?” Papyrus complained. _That was weird, if it did come from behind him then why didn’t I see it until it was already here?_ The human thought. _I don’t know how but this has to be another one of the human’s luck spikes. If I didn’t know any better I’d think the world itself is on their side,_  Flowey thought. Papyrus turned around and looked at the human before conjuring another bone staff.

     “That was rather annoying but nonetheless I’m still capable of crushing a hopeless weakling like you,” Papyrus said.

     “I don’t care what you say, I still believe that there’s more than one way to strong,” the human said while getting a little frustrated.

     “You seem so sure of that, your friend is still trapped behind my eye. If I was to try and kill him right in front of you what could you possibly do about it?” Papyrus mocked. That made human start to get very angry.

     “No point in delaying any longer, your soul will be the cost of your ignorance,” Papyrus said while charging at them. The human balled their hand into a fist as their anger peaked and Papyrus rushed forward but they quickly calmed their self and closed their eyes. _No, I can’t do that. I believe there’s other ways to be strong, and I’m going to prove it,_  the human thought. Flowey was about to shout at the human as they did nothing while Papyrus started to swing, but he stopped upon sensing a large amount of soul energy building up within them.

     Papyrus sped up while swinging causing him to hit the human in the chest extremely hard while rushing past them at the same time. As he heard a loud crack, Flowey closed his eyes and waited for the world to get reset as he was convinced the human couldn’t have taken a hit like that and lived. However after a moment of waiting he realized nothing was happening. As Papyrus had turned around, Flowey was in disbelief upon seeing the human still standing and completely unfazed.

     “That was an impressive display of power,” Papyrus said while looking at the broken bone staff in his hand. The other half of it had flown off somewhere when he had broke it on the human.

     “You go around trying to make friends with monsters when under the right circumstances you could easily destroy them. That would make sense because this world is kill or be killed. Making friends doesn’t make since when you could easily be betrayed at a moment’s notice, so why do it?” Papyrus asked while throwing his half of the bone staff on the ground and watching it fade out of existence.

     “Making friends isn’t meant to be complex like that. It’s so that you can learn more about someone and hopefully establish trust,” the human said with a smile. Papyrus pondered the thought for a moment before letting out a sigh.

     “Very well human, I will attempt to understand the necessity of companionship,” Papyrus said. The human walked towards him and held out their hand. Papyrus slowly raised his hand. Flowey smiled as the human got closer. However, Papyrus suddenly struck the human on the head knocking them out. Flowey was speechless as he watched them fall to the ground.

     “Sorry, force of habit,” Papyrus said while picking them up. He then propped them over his back and started walking towards the town of Snowdin.

     “What was that about?” Flowey said angrily.

     “Calm down, I meant what I said. I just wasn’t completely sure of my decision at the time,” Papyrus responded.

     “Your joking right? If that’s true then are you at least going to let me out of here?” Flowey asked.

     “No, after giving it some thought, knocking out the human wasn’t a bad idea due to the fact that you two will have to appear as prisoners to move safely around Snowdin Town,"  Papyrus explained. Flowey gave a sigh of annoyance but calmed down after a while.

     “So what about them finally made you come around?” Flowey asked.

     “The human survived that last attack by using soul energy to harden their body. Then they dropped all of their defenses and approached me without hesitation even though they were completely vulnerable. The same thing happened to me before when I first fought the old Asgore. He was great fighter but at heart a big fuzzy pushover,” Papyrus said. Flowey kept trying his best to learn about Papyrus as they moved. It wasn’t too long before the three were moving past a giant ruined banner that could barely say 'Welcome to Snowdin Town'.

     “Here we go, don’t say anything or look at anyone,” Papyrus ordered. He then moved forward and stopped right at the window of a shop. On the other side a female bunny monster appeared. She folded her arms upon seeing Papyrus and bore a less than amused look.

     “What do you want Papyrus?” The shop keep said.

     “I’m here to purchase two bisicles as well as two cinnamon bunnies and a bandanna,” Papyrus responded.

     “Sure thing, quick question though, what is that?” The shop keep asked.

     “This is a human that I’ve captured and I’m detaining them until it’s time to have their soul extracted,” Papyrus answered.

     “Unbelievable!” The shop keep responded with an annoyed look on her face.

     “Not really, I am- I’ve never seen you have such a hard time telling a lie before,” the shop keep interrupted. Her accusation left Papyrus stunned.

     “What makes you so sure that I’m lying?” Papyrus asked slightly annoyed now.

     “You are lying, you just do a better job of it normally,” she responded. “Come on Papyrus, bisicles and cinnamon bunnies? The bandanna is out of place too. You’re unaffected by cold and make spaghetti all day. You actually care about this thing don’t you?” She said while staring at him intensely.

     “Of course not, stop pestering me you nosy woman,” Papyrus yelled.

     “I’m not an idiot Papyrus, the last time you brought an unconscious body into town they were getting dragged by their arm. I already know that you picked up all this stuff so you can feed them, what I want to know is why,” the shop keep said while signaling 130 with her hand. Papyrus knew that monsters were hiding all around watching him in secret. However, instead of trying to dodge the subject he chuckled and pulled out his wallet.

     “I’ll tell you what’s really going on. I’m no longer interested in tearing apart this human, in fact the human considers me to be their friend. So I’m going to house them until they leave Snowdin,” Papyrus said.

     “What, you’re serious about this?” The shop keep confusedly asked. Papyrus slammed his money on the counter before taking the bag and lifting it up to his eye socket were it shrunk to the point of fitting inside without being a bother for Flowey.

     “If anyone’s got a problem with that than they know where to find me. I’ll be more than happy to handle their complaints,” Papyrus said while walking off. The shop keep eyed him angrily as he moved on.

     “The bandanna wasn’t in the bag yet dingus,” she said before leaving the window. Flowey looked around and saw various monsters hiding around staring intensely, nonetheless Papyrus still proceeded through town without any resistance.

     “That was very bold,” Flowey said.

     “I had to let them know that even with the human around I’m still a force to be reckoned with,” Papyrus responded. At the same time the human was waking up again. As their vision started to clear they noticed several eyes gazing at them from the shadows and started to feel uneasy.

     “Whoa, what’s going on here?” The human asked. Papyrus set the human down and pulled both Flowey and the bag out of his eye.

     “Human, welcome to Snowdin Town. Sorry about knocking you out earlier,” Papyrus said while handing them a bisicle. The human took the bisicle from him while looking around.

     “Don’t worry about all the monsters, I just got through making it clear that I’m still number one,” Papyrus said while trying to find the bandanna.

     “Oh, not what I was expecting but at least we made it,” the human said while splitting the bisicle down the middle. They then took one half for their self while tossing the other half to Flowey. Not too long after that they felt their soul creating another anchor point.

     “Where are we headed?” The human asked Papyrus

     “Sans and I both live here, you’re going to rest up at our house until you’re ready to leave again,” he answered.

     “Neat, thank you very much, I should be set to go come tomorrow afternoon. I would be leaving sooner but it was extremely tiring trying to get here,” the human said.

     “Sans could care less for company, but you should still be able to have comfortable stay,” Papyrus said. The human gave him a nod of approval as they bit into their half of the bisicle. Upon noticing another one of those mysterious boxes nearby, the human grabbed the bag and walked over to it. They placed the bag inside while pulling out another boot for Flowey. As they placed him in the boot, Flowey let out a sigh of relief upon escaping the cold ground.

     “Alright, let’s not keep him waiting then. The quicker we get there the sooner we can rest,” the human said while finishing off the rest of their bisicle. They then moved over to Papyrus and raised their hand. Papyrus only looked back and raised an eye socket.

     “What are you doing?” He asked with a shrug.

     “We were supposed to shake hands or high five, either way you kind of left me hanging back there,” the human responded.

     “Walking off without saying anything or rejecting you out right would’ve been leaving you hanging. What he did took it to a whole new level,” Flowey followed.

     “That sounds fair, alright then, I’ll commend your efforts the right way this time,” Papyrus said while shaking the human’s hand. He then started walking again and the human stayed close behind. The whole time they followed they could see more eyes peering from windows and behind houses. _There’s so many of them. For him to be able to keep all of them at bay must mean that he’s proven to be extremely tough. I can’t really blame them, he was definitely in a league of his own during our battle. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could reason with him because he was very harsh unlike Toriel who was just lost,_  the human thought to their self.

     “Here we are human. Stay calm because things might get heated with my brother. We’ve always had difficulty seeing eye to eye socket,” Papyrus said. The human and Flowey shared a look before watching Papyrus walk towards the door.

     “Sans, I’ve returned,” Papyrus said as he entered the house. From that point on things took a very bad turn. Immediately the brothers were at odds about whether or not the human was to be locked up. Things got even worse when Sans found out about the human befriending Papyrus. The news caused them to break out into a huge argument that spiraled into a fight. The two finally ended the conflict thanks to interference from the human. The night ended with the human cycling through tv channels before finally falling out on the living room couch.

     Several hours had passed since the human went to sleep. Sans was now sitting at the kitchen table while Papyrus was laying out bowls of spaghetti for the three of them. The human was dreaming peacefully until Flowey had woke them up. They leaned up and stretched their arms before getting up from the couch and walking towards the kitchen with Flowey in hand.

     "Good morning guys,” the human said while taking a seat and placing Flowey on the ground.

     “Salutations human, I’m not completely sure but it actually might be time for dinner. Since you just woke up we’ll assume its breakfast time," Papyrus said.

     “Thanks, spaghetti for breakfast huh, I’m not complaining,” the human said while picking up a fork.

     “Sans, show some respect,” Papyrus said while his brother munched away without regarding the human’s presence.

     “Alright, sup kid. Congrats on making it this far, especially without having to fight,” Sans said.

     “I try my best to refrain from fighting if it’s possible,” the human responded while taking a bite.

     “You’re quite the idealist if you think you can avoid fighting in the underground human,” Papyrus said while winding his fork into a mound of spaghetti.

     “Hasn’t anyone told you that you’re going to get yourself killed around here?” Sans asked while downing another bite.

     “Surely we don’t have to fight forever right? If the king could get along with the first human than couldn’t I convince him it’d be easier to call a truce?” The human asked.

     “Absolute foolishness, eat your spaghetti human, you don’t have the time to chase impossible dreams,” Papyrus said while just about finishing off his bowl.

     “It’s not impossible, in fact it already happened. Who’s to say it can’t go back? Why is it such a big deal that I’m down here anyway?” The human asked while Sans was handing an empty bowl over to his brother. Papyrus pointed at the human who was now scraping what was left of their bowl into Flowey’s mouth.

     “Plenty of reasons. Seven human magicians harnessed soul power to trap us down here. Thus a power equivalent to seven human souls is required to destroy the barrier. If someone had a monster’s soul and a human’s soul they could just walk through the thing but only natural born rulers like Asgore have a soul that will last outside the body,” Papyrus explained while the human handed him their bowl.

     “Seriously?” The human said.

     “Absolutely, that’s why everyone has their eye on you,” Papyrus said while taking everyone’s bowl back to the kitchen.

     “Thanks for the food, it was pretty good,” the human said.

     “Of course, I am a master chef after all," Papyrus responded. "Thanks,” he finished, although less audible than before.

     “Alright kid, I’ve held up my end of the bargain. It’s time for you to go now,” Sans said.

     “Sans for once will you stop being rude,” Papyrus yelled from the kitchen.

     “It’s fine, I want get to the King’s Castle as fast as possible. Just let me clean myself up and I’ll be on my way,” the human said while getting up from the table and finding a spare set of clothes. Sans moved Flowey back into the living room while the human located the bathroom. It took about fifteen minutes for the human to finish up in the bathroom. When they came out they noticed Sans watching tv on the couch while Papyrus was thoroughly tidying up the house.

     “You’re finished. Alright then, this is farewell human,” Papyrus said while walking over to the door and opening it for them.

     “You mean for now,” the human said while picking up Flowey and walking toward the door.

     “I can only hope so,” Papyrus responded.

     “Either way, thank you both for letting us stay, hopefully we can hang out again soon,” the human said while hugging Papyrus with one arm then turning to wave at Sans. Afterwards the human took off towards the edge of Snowdin town more motivated than ever.

     “Soon we’ll cross over into Waterfall. From there we’ll be about halfway to the King’s Castle,” Flowey assured them. The human proceeded with a smile on their face as they moved along the path exiting Snowdin. To the left past a few trees they could see huge blocks of ice floating down a river. At that point there was no worry in the world, but that happy go lucky feeling quickly disappeared as the human felt something hit them in the back pretty hard. Flowey was subsequently tossed in the air as the human took the hit.

     “Shoot, Flowey!” The human called while trying to reach for him. Suddenly the human felt a hand wrap itself around their head and slam them face first into the snow. _Seriously, we just had to go through this now?_ The human thought.

     “Yo creep, right now you’ve got two options, pick wisely,” a familiar voice said.

     “Sans, is that you?” The human said with their face still stuck in the snow. Not too long afterwards the human felt the hand come off the back of their head followed by the sound of something making a speedy escape.

     “Good choice,” Sans said as he watched the assailant make a run for it. The human got up from the ground and watched in surprise as Sans was suspending Flowey and the boot in mid-air.

     “What, haven’t you seen a guy using telekinetic power before? With all the things that have happened to you I figured you’d learn to expect the unexpected. Your odds of survival will be pretty low otherwise,” Sans said while levitating Flowey back into the human’s hands.

     “What made you come after us?” Flowey had asked.

     “My bro knew something like this might happen. He sent me to make sure you safely got out of Snowdin,” Sans answered.

     “Oh, thank you very much,” the human said.

     “Don’t sweat it. You’ll have to try a lot harder if you want to spread the memory of the first fallen,” Sans responded.

     “I know, but I’m not alone,” the human said.

     “Alright kid, go on and get out of here,” Sans said.

     “See you around Sans,” the human said while moving past him. _You’re definitely rough around the edges Sans. Still, I feel that on the inside you can be a pretty cool guy. Next time we meet I’ll have the courage to prove it for sure._


End file.
